wo more MacArthur fellows were added Wednesday to UW-Madison’s growing list of faculty who have received the prestigious award.
Since 1985, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has granted eight UW-Madison professors the fellowship, which often is referred to as a “genius award.”
Two UW-Madison professors have been named MacArthur Foundation fellows, called “genius awards,” for their work in studying weather patterns in the tropics and investigating the effects of nuclear weapons.
UW-Madison professors Ángel F. Adames Corraliza, who is an atmospheric scientist, and Sébastien Philippe, a nuclear security specialist, were selected Wednesday for the prestigious fellowships. Fellows receive $800,000 paid out over five years for any use.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named atmospheric scientist Ángel Adames Corraliza, 37, and nuclear security specialist Sébastien Philippe, 38, as recipients of the prestigious MacArthur fellowship. Also known as the “genius grant,” the national award is given annually to a small group of people across a range of disciplines who show exceptional creativity in their work and future ambitions.
Some University of Wisconsin-Madison research will be affected due to the federal government shutdown, according to a message from both the Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration and of Research.
UW-Madison ranked sixth nationally for research expenditure in 2024 and is at risk for delayed research project funding after the shutdown.
University of Wisconsin-Madison officials said the university’s ethnic studies requirement will remain in place Wednesday, as a plan to standardize required courses across the University of Wisconsin System left the requirement in ambiguity.
For Ángel F. Adames Corraliza, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the award is also a recognition of the talent and grit coming from Puerto Rico, where he is from, despite the hardships his community has endured. His research has uncovered many new findings about what drives weather patterns in the tropics, which may eventually help improve forecasting in those regions.
Adames said usually one of his classes would be ending right when the foundation would publish the new class of fellows, so he was planning to end the lecture early to come back to his office. He said he’s having trouble fathoming what it will be like.
“I am low-key expecting that a few people are just going to show up in my office, like right at 11:02 a.m. or something like that,” he said.
Since the fellowship launched in 1981, fellows have included writers, scientists, artists, social scientists, humanists, teachers and entrepreneurs. While no institutional affiliation is required, the award went to the following 2025 fellows with ties to a college or university:
Atmospheric scientist Elizabeth Maroon of the University of Wisconsin-Madison told CNN there are large uncertainties in how this marine heat wave will affect the atmosphere above it, but there is no question that the blob will have an impact.
For example, she said there is the question of, “Will the marine heat wave get amplified by La Niña conditions, which is a very distinct possibility?” Those two would then work together to change winter weather patterns, she said, calling it one of several scenarios.
Wisconsin’s cranberry industry generates nearly $1 billion annually and supports over 4,000 jobs in the state, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension. While 2025’s production of the fruit saw a slight decrease from the 6.01 million barrels harvested in 2024, the forecasted 5.3 million barrels will make up roughly 65% of the total U.S. supply.
A University of Wisconsin-Madison collective is working to establish a long-term data set of little brown bat populations on campus with national implications for conservation.
The UW-Madison Bat Brigade is a collaboration between students, professionals and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to monitor and study bats on campus. The Brigade is part of Biocore, an honors biology program.
A University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty Senate meeting Monday centered on two hot-button issues on campus: a proposal for a new college of computing and data sciences and systemwide reforms on the university’s general education requirements, including rumored threats to the ethnic studies requirement.
Madison Students for a Democratic Society organized a candlelight vigil at Library Mall Oct. 7 to remember the lives of Palestinians killed in Gaza.
The United Nations declared that Israel has been committing four genocidal actions in Gaza since the Hamas attacks that occurred Oct. 7, 2023.
Nathan Kalmoe, a University of Wisconsin political scientist, said via email that emphasizing poor economic conditions could be risky for Wisconsin Democrats running in state elections. While Republican lawmakers “may take some blame, the governor is a Democrat,” and voters tend to hold the chief executive responsible for economic conditions, he said.
Kalmoe added that focusing on the economy exclusively at the expense of concerns for the most marginalized or concerns about Trump administration actions that threaten democracy would be “disturbing, and dangerous.”
The Overture Concert Organ Series opened on Oct. 2 with a performance by Madison Symphony Orchestra Principal Organist Greg Zelek and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Concert Choir, conducted by Director of Choral Studies Dr. Mariana Farah.
At 31, Zelek is an organ prodigy and has played all over the world. He is one of a handful of full-time symphony organists in the US and has the privilege of performing on the Overture Center’s own stunning, custom-made organ.
Written by Joshua Braver, an assistant law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
